Chapter 120

Chapter 120

I dreamed.

- Long time no see, bro!

Messages were piling up.

- Youve become quite famous while I was away, huh?

Messages, were piling up.

- Listen, bro. I have surgery coming up...

Messages.

- Can you just tell me to hang in there?

Were piling up.

***

Gasp!

My eyes shot open.

Huff, huff!

I sat up abruptly, my entire body drenched in cold sweat. I wiped my sweat away, breathing heavily.

Was that... a dream...

It must be around dawn... Its hard to tell time in this dungeon below the lake, without sunlight.

I took out a pocket watch. 5 a.m. Its still early.

Your Majesty?

I heard a voice and turned to see Junior was awake.

She leaned against the beds headboard, puffing on a pipe.

Smoke lazily billowed from the pipe. A faint smell of herbs lingered.

Are you okay, Your Majesty? Are you hurt anywhere?

Ah, uh... No. Im fine.

Seeing someone else awake, I was relieved and gave a small smile.

Why arent you sleeping?

I woke up because of a short nap.

Junior, pulling the pipe out of her mouth, asked with a worried look.

Are you alright, Your Majesty? You seemed distressed. Did you have a nightmare?

...

After wiping the sweat off my forehead, I let out a small sigh.

Theres something I regret.

...

And I think thats why I often dream about it.

Junior gave a bitter smile.

A lot of people say that.

A lot of people? Do others feel the same way?

I often do.

Junior shrugged her shoulders.

I think its because I have a lot of regrets. I frequently have nightmares.

...

I wonder what kind of nightmares Junior has.

Does she dream about the day her village burned down 15 years ago?

Everyone else is sleeping soundly.

When I turned around, it was indeed true.

Evangeline was snoring and scratching her belly, Lucas was sleeping stiffly at attention, and Damien was so quiet, he didnt even seem to be breathing. Hey, are you alive?

When you wake up from a nightmare alone, its scary.

Junior looked around at our party members, a thin smile on her face.

But when were all together like this, Im not that worried. Just hearing the others breathe is reassuring.

Ha-ha, should we camp out more often?

He-he. That sounds good. ...However, next time.

As she looked at the peaceful scene of our party members sleeping, Junior calmly voiced her wish.

I hope its not in a dungeon but at a nice picnic spot with a good view.

...That would be nice.

I hope that day comes soon.

Just then.

Bam!

Your Majesty!

Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open, and someone rushed in.

Im sorry, Your Majesty. I think you need to wake up!

A tall man wearing a jackal mask.

It was the Jackal, the owner of this Colosseum.

The startled party members began to wake up one by one. I quickly got up and asked,

Whats going on? What happened?

Its an enemy raid.

Reluctantly, the Jackal gave the dire news.

...The vampires are attacking.

My party members were staring at me with stern faces.

"Lets go."

Staring down the long passage, I muttered under my breath.

"Teaching those vampire bastards a lesson can wait."

***

I dont know how much time passed since we started heading in the opposite direction.

"By the way..."

Evangeline, walking at the end of the line, spoke in a puzzled tone.

"Hasnt this passage gotten a bit colder than yesterday?"

"Oh, has it...?"

True, whenever we spoke, white breath puffed out.

"I-Im cold... all of a sudden..."

Damien shivered, hugging his arms.

"...This is."

Frost clung to Juniors pallid face.

I furrowed my brows.

Something was off.

Clearly, something was wrong.

The moment everyone in the party noticed this.

"Your Majesty."

Lucas, leading our group, spoke with a stiff voice.

"What is it?"

"Theres... something ahead in the passage."

"..."

Though I didnt feel like it, I moved beside Lucas and looked in the same direction.

"...!"

There stood a boy.

A small boy, dressed in a neat black suit.

Pale as snow, his hair was a deep blue like the night sky.

And... his eyes were blood-red, overflowing with mischief, staring in our direction.

There was no need to ask who he was. I had fought against him dozens of times in the game.

"Celendion..."

I gritted my teeth.

"...Its the Vampire King."

Shrriiing! Shrriiing!

The party members quickly arranged themselves into a battle formation.

Evangeline joined the front line, and the two knights drew their silver weapons.

Damien, with his crossbow, retreated backward and lowered his posture, while Junior began to cast magic, standing erect.

I stood in the middle, gripping Maestro in my hand.

"Hmm."

And then.

"Excuse me for a moment."

The next moment, Celendion was right in the middle of our party.

In Celendions hand was Lucas silver sword, snapped in half.

In his other hand, Evangelines spearhead and Damiens crossbow were similarly broken.

"Huh?"

"No way..."

"What?"

Confused exclamations slipped from the mouths of the three. The next moment...

Thwack! Thwock! Swoosh!

Lucas, Evangeline, and Damien were scattered in all directions, like bowling pins.

An invisible force had struck the three of them.

The party members, vomiting blood as they were knocked away, slammed into the corridor walls and then slid to the floor.

"Heurgh-!"

Junior hastily cast her magic. In the air, three elements gathered to form a magic sphere.

And Celendion merely glanced at the magic sphere.

"Thats enough."

Whoosh!

Just with that, the magic disintegrated and disappeared completely.

Junior murmured in disbelief.

"...No way."

Thwack!

The next moment, Junior too was hit by some force and was thrown far away.

In the blink of an eye, after incapacitating all my party members.

"Lets have a chat, player."

The Vampire King walked leisurely to stand in front of me, looking at me intently.

"I have many questions for you."